Hardest cycleway votes last

Decisions on the most controversial routes of the South
Dunedin Cycle Network will be saved until last.

City councillors have been asked to sign off on the next set
of cycleway routes for South Dunedin today, but are to
receive a separate report later this month on the last eight
routes needed to complete the $4.5 million network.

The exact routes and types of cycleways planned are still in
the conceptual stage, but are expected to be contentious
because they will have by far the greatest impact on parking
and access, particularly in Macandrew Rd.

The network has so far had minimal effect on car parks.

More detailed options for one of the last routes, Victoria
Rd, including a shared cycle/footpath option requiring the
loss of 38 car parks, have already caused an uproar in St
Clair.

Other plans are for new cycle lanes running the length of
Forbury, Hillside and Macandrew Rds, with a short separated
bicycle facility (SBF) and shared path at the Andersons Bay
Rd end of Hillside Rd; a SBF on the south side of Andersons
Bay Rd from Hillside Rd to the rail overbridge; a shared path
from the overbridge to State Highway 1 and a SBF from SH1 to
Gordon St (along the Oval); a SBF connecting Law St with the
Caversham shops; and a shared path in Wharf St from Kitchener
St to Fryatt St.

More detail of the plans would be provided to councillors
later this month, senior transportation planner Lisa Clifford
and road project engineer Evan Matheson said in a report
councillors will consider today.

They noted councillors last year raised questions about
whether cycle lanes, as proposed for Forbury, Hillside and
Macandrew Rds, were the most suitable option and whether all
cycleways should be separated from traffic.

That would still need to be discussed, but whether the
council decided on cycle lanes or SBFs, the result would be a
''significant parking loss'' on Macandrew Rd.

Consultants were looking at both options and their effects
and would report to the council on June 23, for a final
decision.

In original plans for the South Dunedin Cycle Network, a SBF
was approved for Lower Stuart St from one-way Cumberland and
Castle Sts to the Octagon, but staff are now proposing that
work instead become part of the Central City Cycle Network,
which is to follow the completion of the south city network.

• Shared path: Usually a 3m-wide footpath with
markings dividing pedestrians from cyclists, often with
parking on the outside of the path. Requires widening of
existing pathways.

• Separated bicycle facility: Cycle lane between the
kerb and parking lane, separated from traffic with a barrier

• Cycle lane: Markings on the road reserved for
exclusive use of cyclists, but able to be crossed by
motorists

• Quiet street: Low speed, low volume roads where
cyclists mix with traffic. May require restricting some
entry/exit to divert traffic using the street as a ''rat
run'', and traffic-calming to slow traffic.